Background

Genetically Engineered Biopharmaceutical Crops - Background

Inside a genetic engineering laboratory Photo by University of Michigan

Biopharmaceutical crops

Dozens of genetically engineered (GE) plant varieties containing foreign human and animal genes that cause them to produce pharmaceutical and industrial compounds are being grown in open fields nationwide. These novel “biopharmaceutical” varieties are a distinctive and particularly risky form of GE crop. They produce growth hormones, blood thinners and clotting agents, vaccines, enzymes, and myriad other compounds. Corn is by far the most popular biopharm plant, followed by soybeans, tobacco and rice. Some are extremely potent (active at billionths of a gram); none are approved for human or animal consumption.

Risks

These crops pose an array of risks to farm workers, consumers, food companies, and to native plants and animals. The National Academy of Sciences has stated that the environmental impacts associated with biopharmaceutical varieties “cannot be predicted” and that their novel compounds could contaminate the human and animal food supplies. Scientific reviews indicate that allowing the dispersal of such crops over thousands of acres or more could: a) Broadcast unwanted compounds into the air, water and soil, as well as into foods and beverages, that could elicit a public epidemic of disease and allergic reactions, including life-threatening anaphylactic shock; b) Pose massive occupational safety challenges, as some compounds may cause harm via inhalation, dermal absorption, and unintended ingestion; and c) Persist in the environment and bioaccumulate in wildlife, plants, and soil, leading to acute and chronic toxicity and ecological disruption.

Field-testing in Hawai'i

Hawai'i has had more field tests of GE crops generally than any other state, with over 1,400. Hawai'i has had more biopharmaceutical field tests, 15, than any other state besides Nebraska. The primary companies engaged in these tests are Monsanto, Prodigene, and Dow. Prodigene has conducted the most biopharm field tests in Hawai'i with five. It also is the most notorious violator of USDA requirements for confinement of biopharm crops on the mainland, including two violations in 2002 that came close to contaminating the human food supply with a pig diarrhea vaccine. The USDA had to quarantine 500,000 bushels of contaminated soybeans in Nebraska and order that 155 acres of corn in Iowa be pulled and incinerated. Prodigene was fined $250,000 and had to pay approximately $3 million in compensation costs. Other serious violations have occurred in Hawai'i involving non-biopharm crops. The EPA fined Dow and Pioneer/DuPont thousands of dollars for violating GE corn separation rules on Kaua`i and Moloka`i.

Potential impacts

Hawai'i's small size, its unique, sensitive natural environment and the close proximity of agricultural and populated areas combine to dramatically raise the stakes of testing biopharm crops there. Contamination through pollen and seed dispersal, water runoff, birds, animals, and accidents could quickly harm native plants and animals in the state with the highest number and concentration of endangered species in the country. Hawai'i's important seed corn industry could be devastated by biopharm contamination, along with farmers of, for example, sweet corn. Tourism and other economic sectors also could suffer.

Inadequate regulation

Major food industry associations like the Grocery Manufacturers of America fear food crop contamination. They have lobbied top USDA and FDA officials to drastically strengthen biopharm crop regulation and called on industry to shift to non-food crops. Environmental and consumer groups have called for a moratorium on outdoor plantings of biopharm crops.